Good-bye
by thewaythatyoudo
Summary: Because good-byes are hard, especially when they're with someone that you care about. For Nicole.


The comforting room that he'd once loved to bits now threatened to completely suffocate him. Every inch of it mocked him, from the grand piano where they'd written all of their songs together, to the fridge that was always filled to the brim with Dez's odd obsession of the week. All of his favorite memories had taken place here. Here, in their little brightly decked out practice room, and not at the beach or the release party for his CD or even in Times Square.

Had he not done enough?

Ally was a set of stairs down from him in Sonic Boom as he sat perched on the edge of his favorite piano bench. She was still looking for odd little things around the store to pack in her suitcase; a piece of sheet music here, a guitar pick there. With every tick of the clock, Austin felt more and more like he had failed.

She was getting a record deal. Don't get him wrong, he was happy for her, he really was, but was she not happy with him? Did he not show her enough appreciation? Was she unsatisfied with a life as nothing more than Austin Moon's songwriter?

Of course she was. He was sick of hearing it, so it wouldn't be all that surprising if she was sick of living it. Still, his simple mind was having trouble wrapping around the idea that she was leaving them, leaving him. Team Austin was supposed to be going on a world tour in a week, and then life decided to throw him a curve ball and throw Ally a solo career.

The worst part of it all was that he didn't even have the right to be upset. He should be downstairs encouraging her right now, a bright smile on his face as he wished her a safe flight to the recording studio in California. But he wasn't. Instead, he was sulking alone like a bad friend. He couldn't shake the feeling of complete and utter despair that overwhelmed him knowing that the most important person to him was only a handful of minutes away from starting a new chapter of her life, one that didn't have room for him in it.

Funny, they were only really going to be apart for a year. A year for him to tour places he'd never been able to pronounce let alone visit, and a year for her to record and put out her own album. But then why did it feel like good-bye forever?

So much could happen in a year. He of all people definitely knew that. In a year, she could easily become as big of a star as him, if not more so. There was an infinite amount of talent packed into her little 5'3" frame. A year from now, he's probably have turned into nothing more than a product of fame without her there to ground him.

The door to the practice room slowly creaked open and his head immediately snapped up as he jumped to his feet. At the door stood the girl who had changed his life so much in such a short period of time, and right then, as if seeing her caused something to click in his mind, he realized that he had no choice but to let her pursue her own dreams.

"I leave soon," she said simply, taking a few steps forward and looking at him expectantly with her big doe eyes. As if he hadn't already been counting down the seconds in his mind.

He walked towards her so that they were standing in front of one another. "I know." One hand placed itself in his pocket while the other combed through his hair sheepishly.

There was a pause where neither of them said anything. Finally, Ally took it as her cue to speak. "So I was hoping for at least a good-bye?" She both looked and sounded hurt, and he mentally cursed himself for screwing up once again.

He have her a small nod, like the idiot that he was. "Bye." The image of her crestfallen face would probably be burned into retinas forever.

"Okay," she said in a small voice, her gaze now on the floor as opposed to his face. "Well, bye." Her brown curls bounced as she turned to face away from him, approaching the door to leave their safe haven, their practice room, their chapter.

And yet something in him couldn't let her leave like this.

"Wait, Ally, I-" He grabbed her by the wrist and spun her around, but he didn't even get a second to comprehend the action before Ally stood up on her tiptoes and flung her arms around his neck, her scent surrounding him. His body didn't even allow him to be stunned as it instinctively wrapped his arms tightly around her body, burying his head in her hair. The smell of coconut and lavender filled his nostrils, along with something else that was distinctively Ally Dawson. He'd miss that immensely.

He held her even closer when he felt the warmth of her tears slide down his neck. They were as close as two people could possibly be and fit together like two puzzle pieces. It was almost cruel that they were being separated so soon. No, it was definitely cruel.

"Austin," she mumbled into the crook of his neck, and he knew he had to say something before she changed her mind about going. He wasn't about to be the one who stopped her from reaching her full potential.

"Good-bye," he whispered into her ear. She started crying even harder, and it killed him, but then she nodded her head, still entangled his arms and making no move to let go any time soon.

"Good-bye," Ally replied, because there was nothing else to do or say, except await the day that their paths would cross once again.

* * *

**A/N: My first real fanfic since I was 10 and borderline illiterate. Written and uploaded from an iPod at 1 a.m., so please excuse any errors. Thank you for reading! **

**Inspired by/written for Nicole. Love you.**


End file.
